Press releases

The start of legal action by the European Commission against national Type Approval Authorities and transport ministries for failing to do their job and clamp down on the emissions cheating exposed by the Dieselgate scandal is a very welcome and important development, sustainable transport group Transport & Environment has said. Infringement proceedings are being taken against seven countries for: failing to set up penalties systems to deter car manufacturers from violating car emissions legislation, or not applying such sanctions where a breach of law has occurred – in more than 29 million diesel cars in Europe.

Growth in emissions from shipping and aviation will undo nearly half (43%) of the savings expected to be made by the rest of transport in Europe through to 2030, a new independent study has found. It means that almost half of the already-inadequate emissions savings expected in land transport will be cancelled out by ships and planes, according to the report commissioned by sustainable group Transport & Environment (T&E).

The European Commission’s guidelines on reducing emissions ‘upstream’ from oil refineries are too weak to drive real action by the oil industry because they leave open the door to questionable carbon offsets, green groups Carbon Market Watch and Transport & Environment (T&E) have said. However, national governments can still strengthen the guidelines and make them legally binding.

Backtracking on its commitment to promote the electrification of transport and a phaseout of food-based biofuels, the European Commission today proposed to keep supporting planet-wrecking biofuels until 2030 and not stimulate the uptake of clean electricity in transport. Moreover, the Commission is setting a target for advanced fuels 15 years in advance, without appropriate sustainability criteria, as if it hasn’t learned a lesson from mistakes with first generation biofuels.

At least 80 per cent (20 million) of Europe's 26 million illegally polluting diesel cars remain unfixed by national regulators in Europe more than a year after the Dieselgate scandal broke, new evidence shows. Documents obtained by sustainable transport group Transport & Environment (T&E) reveal that governments are blocking any independent on-road checks of cars and oversight of national testing agencies. Ministers meeting at Transport Council this Thursday will attempt to derail European Commission efforts to have dirty diesel cars fixed. Meanwhile MEPs in the environment committee today voted to establish a new independent EU watchdog for testing, much like the US EPA.

Today’s ruling by the WTO against Washington State on subsidies to Boeing, and an earlier similar ruling on Airbus, officially adds another €5.4 billion ($5.7 billion) to the already very long list of subsidies granted to the aviation sector, sustainable transport group Transport & Environment has said.

Despite all the glaring evidence proving that palm-oil biodiesel is three times more polluting than fossil diesel, European transport still keeps burning more and more palm oil to power its diesel cars and trucks. 2015 data from OILWORLD, industry's reference for vegetable oils market analysis, shows a 3% increase in the use of palm oil for biodiesel. European biodiesel is now the main end product of imported palm oil, reaching an all-time-high share of 46%. This makes drivers the leading (albeit unaware) consumers of palm oil in Europe.

The refusal by MEPs to refer the controversial Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) to the European Court of Justice in a vote today is an abdication of their responsibility, green group Transport & Environment (T&E) has said. The European Parliament has the power to request an opinion by the Luxembourg court on the compatibility of trade agreements with the EU treaties. But the resolution to refer the Canada-Europe trade deal, over concerns about the creation of a new ‘Investment Court System’, was defeated by 419 votes to 258.

The European Commission’s leaked draft proposal to continue supporting land-based biofuels until 2030 will increase greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from European transport over the period 2021-2030 by an amount equivalent to the emissions from the Netherlands in 2014. These are extra emissions from using these biofuels instead of regular diesel and petrol.

Claims that CETA is a ‘gold standard’ of trade deals for the betterment of people and the planet are undermined by a toothless environment chapter that cannot be properly enforced and a tribunal system which will prioritise corporate interests, according to a new analysis by green group Transport & Environment (T&E) and legal NGO ClientEarth. The Canada-EU deal’s environment chapter does nothing to encourage climate mitigation measures, such as transitioning to renewable energy, as called for in the Paris climate agreement which was signed by both Canada and EU. On Wednesday, 23 November, MEPs will vote on whether to refer the agreement to the European of Justice.